The objectives ofthe Development Research Program of the DF/HCC Kidney Cancer SPORE are 1) to provide short-term funding for innovative and meritorious research projects in kidney cancer that have the potential to evolve into translational studies, 2) to fund efforts that will complement or enhance the overall scope and quality of the SPORE and 3) to ensure a confinual renewal of high quality and innovative translational research within the SPORE. These projects may be investigator-initiated laboratory or clinical research, or they may be designed to create a shared resource or enhance the research infrastructure of the SPORE. The Program will rely on the infrastructure created by the Administrafion, Evaluafion and Planning Core (Core 1) to accomplish these goals. The process will involve: 1) Identificafion of promising areas of translafional research related to kidney cancer 2) Solicitation of high quality applications addressing these and other areas 3) Selection of worthy projects for funding -Provision of critiques to selected projects -Provision of critiques, encouragement and support for potentially worthy, unselected projects 4) Provision of funds to the selected projects 5) Evaluation of progress and accomplishments ofthe projects including the possibility of 2nd year funding and transition into full project status 6) Evaluafion of the success of the Developmental Program as a whole This process has served us well in the initial SPORE funding period with four Projects in the current grant application (Projects 1, 3, 4 and 5) being based in total or in part on scientific knowledge that emerged from Developmental Projects. Results of the first funding cycle are summarized below. The specific steps in this process are described in more detail thereafter.